Court upholds woman's arrest for shouting

June 27, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Free speech rights do not protect a woman from being prosecuted for disorderly conduct after she continued to shout at police officers after being warned to stop, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. Latoya Blackman of Indianapolis began shouting "This is unconstitutional" and various obscenities at the officers as they arrested her brother on drug charges in front of their home in May 2005, according to court records. Officers told her to stop yelling and leave the scene, but she instead yelled even louder and a crowd began to gather. The officers warned her she would be arrested if she did not leave and handcuffed her when she failed to comply. She was later convicted of disorderly conduct. Blackman's defense attorney argued that the noise she caused wasn't unreasonable given the circumstances and that her shouts were protected speech under Indiana's Constitution. The three-judge panel disagreed Tuesday. "The facts before us plainly indicate that Blackman made unreasonable noise and continued to do so after being repeatedly asked to stop," Judge Carl Darden wrote in the 3-0 decision. The judges also ruled that Blackman's comments — including some described as profane or belligerent — were not entirely political speech. Besides, they noted, the officers never prevented Blackman from expressing her views, but tried to keep her from interfering with their work and drawing undue attention. "The fact that one is engaging in protected political speech does not obviate one's responsibility to act in a civically responsible manner," Darden wrote. In a separate concurring opinion, Judge James Kirsch said the ruling appeared to overturn a 1993 Supreme Court order that set aside the disorderly conduct conviction of a woman who was arrested after she shouted obscenities at police officers who were arresting another person. The Associated Press left a phone message Tuesday seeking comment from Blackman's attorney, William F. Thoms.